UCL runs over for Bayern, Chelsea
Villarreal stunned six-time European champion Bayern Munich to reach the Champions League semifinals for the first time in 16 years on Tuesday thanks to Samuel Chukwueze’s 88th-minute goal that salvaged a 1-1 draw and a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Villarreal’s 1-0 lead from the first leg was wiped out by Robert Lewandowski seven minutes into the second half, but Chukwueze completed a counterattack within four minutes of coming off the bench to extend the Spanish team’s surprising run in the competition.
The entire city of Villarreal — population of 50,000 — could fit into Bayern’s 75,000-capacity stadium in Munich.
And while Bayern lifted the European Cup in 2020, the furthest Villarreal has reached in the competition is the semifinals in 2006.
But the same resolve that saw Villarreal beat Manchester United in the 2021 Europa League final has now seen Unai Emery’s side oust both Juventus and Bayern in the knockout phase of the Champions League.
Liverpool or Benfica awaits in the semifinals, with the English club holding a 3-1 lead over the Portuguese side heading into Wednesday’s second leg at Anfield.
Chelsea’s UCL title defense ended despite a 3-2 win against Real Madrid as Karim Benzema spoiled its comeback by scoring in extra time to put the Spanish powerhouse back into the semifinals. Benzema had scored a hat trick in the first leg to give Madrid a 3-1 lead. He got the decisive goal at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium with a header off a cross by Vinícius Júnior six minutes into extra time. The hosts had looked beaten after going down 3-0 in regulation, but substitute Rodrygo evened the aggregate score in the 80th and Madrid found a way to reach the last four for the 10th time in the last 12 seasons.
Golf: Shirley Spork, one of the 13 founders of the LPGA Tour who learned two weeks ago she would be inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame, died. She was 94. While she never won on the LPGA Tour, Spork’s impact stretched across seven decades of starting the tour and teaching the game. On May 6, 1950, while teaching in the Detroit public school system, Spork turned pro and became one of 13 women who signed the original charter of the LPGA.
NBA: All-Star G Stephen Curry could return to full practice for the Warriors this week as he recovers from a sprained ligament and a bone bruise in his left foot. Coach Steve Kerr said Curry is “day to day” but won’t play for the Warriors in the postseason until after he has scrimmaged. The team is next expected to scrimmage Thursday. ESPN reported that Curry remains a closecall to be available Saturday for Game 1 of the Warriors’ first-round series against the Nuggets. Curry missed the Warriors’ last 12 games of the regular season.
NHL: Kings defenseman Drew Doughty will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his wrist. The former Norris Trophy winner was injured March 7, and had missed 16 straight games . ... The league pushed back a scheduled matchup between the Kraken and Jets as a winter storm sweeps through southern Manitoba. The game, originally scheduled for Wednesday, will instead be played May 1.